Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Supports State Cannabis Laws

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, who leads most national polls among Republicans, says that he supports states deciding their own cannabis laws, and wouldn’t enforce federal law on states that have legalized cannabis if elected president.

“In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state,” Trump said during a Thursday rally outside of a casino in Reno, Nevada.

In the past, Trump has made it clear that he “100 percent” supports allowing for the use of cannabis for medical purposes, though he’s states recently that he opposes recreational legalization.

In 1990, Trump called for the legalization of all drugs, saying; “We’re losing badly the war on drugs. You have to legalize drugs to win that war…. you have to take the profit away from these drug czars”.

Trump’s comments are in stark contrast to presidential candidate Ben Carson, who is leading in the first voting state of Iowa; Carson recently stated in an interview that he would “intensify” the war on drugs, including going after states that legalize cannabis.

Anthony Martinelli

Anthony is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheJointBlog. He has worked closely with numerous elected officials who support cannabis law reform, including as the former Campaign Manager for King County (WA) Councilmember Dave Upthegrove. He has been published by multiple media outlets, and is a former contributor for Village Voice Media.